In the weeks until the Festival gears up, we will be featuring several
GCDF dance artists here on the blog. Please join us each week as we get an
intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the artistry, process, and experiences
these talented dancers and choreographers from across the country are bringing
to this year’s Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival. We encourage you to not just read their amazing stories,
but to ask questions or engage in conversation about dance in our comments
section below. Get ready to Power Up!
Vancouver-based Kinesis Dance somatheatro company manager, Jason Karman, speaks
to us today about working with award-winning artistic director and
choreographer Paras Terezakis. Paras is the choreographer of BOX4, which presents at our On the Stage,
Stage B series on Saturday, June 2,
at 8pm.
Jason: After watching Paras Terezakis’ Perverse Accumulation this spring with Simon Fraser University’s
repertory company, I became very excited to work at Kinesis Dance. His creative
process is very Dionysian. He choreographs from a place of instinct, chaos, and
unbridled passion, and this can be a challenge when one has been trained to
follow order, rationality, and formalism. Paras loves to provoke, challenge, and
discover. It is what makes his works exciting to watch for many because the
unfamiliar can be more rewarding than the familiar.
 |
| Box to the Power of 4. Dancer: Hayden Fong. Vocals: Paras Terezakis. Photo by Chris Randle |
My background is in filmmaking and administration. Dance is an artistic
expression that many filmmakers do not fully understand and there is value in
learning to articulate it. Paras describes his choreography as “a spontaneous
combustion. It looks like it happens on its own, but it actually comes from a
very complex hidden process.”
BOX4 uses print
media as a metaphor; the work is an intense exploration of male aggression,
competition and negotiation. Paras writes, “Tensions are explored under the
paternalistic eye of society’s mass media and the constant barrage of
information we receive daily that has become as much of an impediment to
knowing ourselves as it is as an enlightenment.”
 |
| Paras Terezakis – 02-10-2011. Photo by Paras. |
One of the things I’m learning from my working experience with Paras is
to be bold and take the road less travelled. Challenge yourself and choose the
unknown because the rewards often outweigh the perceived risks. As an artist, I
find his works relevant because change is inevitable and often unpredictable.
Paras has amassed a substantial body of work over the years with each
piece showing an evolution into the next. The works that he deems as most
important are those which provide the greatest challenge, open new avenues
of discovery, or instill confidence in a given direction. I look forward to
working with Paras and articulating his vision through Kinesis Dance somatheatro.
 |
| Jason and Paras. Photo by Jason Karman. |
Kinesis Dance somatheatro is a Vancouver-based Dance Company
celebrating 26 years of excellence through the guidance of Artistic Director
and founder Paras Terezakis. An internationally acclaimed choreographer,
he has created over 40 works which have toured the Americas and Europe
including Turkey. His 2009 work BOX4 won the Isadora Award for
excellence in choreography and
the Vancouver Sun highlighted this work as one of the year’s most memorable
performances of 2010.
Paras is also hosting a Public Workshop on Performing: Beyond Technique on Sunday, June 3 from 9:30-10:45am at Dancetheatre David Earle, 42 Quebec Street. All levels welcome!
http://www.youtube.com/user/KinesisDance677
Paras is also hosting a Public Workshop on Performing: Beyond Technique on Sunday, June 3 from 9:30-10:45am at Dancetheatre David Earle, 42 Quebec Street. All levels welcome!
Thank you for these articles. Whenever I attend an artistic event whether a dance performance, a music concert, or a gallery I always want to know more. More about the piece, more about the artist, more about their decisions, more about their message or lack thereof. I appreciate the chance to know more before attending as I believe it helps me approach the work with more understanding and generosity. I suppose I should use the internet more often before attending rather than after....hmmmm
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